Our condolences.

We get it. You’ve been hurt. In the past, someone burned you. They said, “Hey, let’s go down to [random bar]; they have trivia tonight!”

You hated it.

You could barely hear the host. The questions were either too damn hard or almost condescendingly easy. And 35 questions later, at the end of the quiz, a table across from you—who, you swear, was Googling every question—ended up taking the top spot. Turns out they’re regulars and know the four blogs where the questions come from.

We understand what that’s like. So let us make it up to you…

Our Promise: Trivia that Doesn’t Suck.

You deserve better. At Smarty Pantz, we pack 99 general knowledge questions into two hours of live bar trivia. Guided by a quizmaster every step of the way, our goal is to be fun and approachable. We know what it’s like when the categories are too specific, the questions to obscure—or simply too hard—and that's no fun. Our events have something for everyone (well, everyone who knows how to have a good time).

Rules

Yeah, we like to have fun. But this isn’t ‘Nam: this is trivia, and there are rules. Here’s what keeps our game running and our teams coming back:

Brains Only

Yeah, you’ve had a hard week. You need this win. But we're testing brain power, not thumb speed. 'Consulting' with Google is cheating. It’s not worth it and besides, you know you’ll just go home feeling empty inside.

Team Up!

Teams compete in groups of eight or less. Got more than 8 friends? That’s fine, but at the end of the quiz, to account for your extra brain power, we deduct two points for each member over 8.

Don’t dilly-dally!

The Smarty Pantz Golden Rule: "A good quiz is a fast quiz". Our trivia is a well oiled machine, but with 99 questions, we need to move fast. Think quickly, write quickly, win quickly.

Here's how it works...

Better Questions

Every question is shown in full audio and visual glory. It takes our team about 50 hours to prepare each two hour quiz. Now, we aren’t so good at numbers, so we asked our accountant how the math works on that. She said we’re spending 25 minutes of prep work for every minute of game time. That’s how committed we are to showing you a great time.

8 Category Rounds

The quiz packs ten questions into each of our eight rounds of trivia. The categories change each week, so it's always fresh material. With so many questions and a broad range of categories, everyone contributes— even people who claim they're "no good at trivia".

(For those of you thinking, “eight rounds, ten questions each, that’s only 80 questions. I thought it was 99?"… keep reading.)

Double Points

At the start of each quiz, teams select two rounds that will earn them double points for each correct answer. Remember, each round has its own category, so you’ll want to pick your doubles based on your team’s unique blend of knowledge. Maybe you're culture vultures and want to double TV & Movies or Entertainment. Or, perhaps you're well-read world travelers: try doubling your points on the Geography or Art & Literature rounds.

Wipeout

We're not done yet… to split up the action we play a mid-game, "Wipeout," round. Provide 10 answers to our weekly category for extra points. Be sure to have your answers in order of most- to least-confident. This order is important. Because in Wipeout, we stop scoring as soon as we run across an incorrect answer. So if you get number 4 wrong, yet get numbers 5–10 right, you only score 3 points for your first three answers.

(10 more answers brings our total to 90…)

Trivial Teaser

At the end every round, your quizmaster will read one clue from an overarching riddle. These clues get more revealing as the game goes on. Your mission: answer this riddle correctly and early. The sooner you can guess the correct solution, the more bonus points are awarded.

(Getting close... 8 Trivial Teaser clues brings our total to 98!)

Tie Breaker

It’s rare, but ties do happen. To make sure we’ve only got one winner, each quiz includes a tie breaker. Don't gloss over this question; if you're not careful it could cost you the title!

(And that brings our grand total to 99!)

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